Self-heating smoothing-iron



P. S. HOWEEB 7 Sad Iron. No. 10,938. Patented May H6, 1854.

wv N TED STATES rarnn'rorriou PETER SQHOWES; OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SELF-HEATING slvroo'rrrnve-moivl l Specification of Letters Patent No.10,938, dated May 16, 1854.

T all whom z'tmay concern.

Q Be it known that L Prrrnn S. HOWES, of Boston, in the county ofSuflolkandState of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved RotarySmoothing-Iron; and I do hereby declare that the same is fully describedand represented in the following specification andthe accompanyingdrawings, letters, figures, and references thereof.

Of the said drawings, Figure, 1 represents a side elevation; Fig.2,avertical, central and longitudinal section. Fig. 3 is a horizontalsection taken through the journals of the rotary smoothing chamber. Fig.4c is a front end v1ew of my lmproved smoothing This smoothing iron likeothers in use consists of a metallic box A, formed with two smoothingfaces or flats a, b, and connected to a handle or bail B, by journals C,D, that project from the ends of the box and extend through bearingsmade in the lower parts of the vertical slides of the handle. Oneofthese journals, viz., D, is made hollow or tubular in order to admit thewick tube 0 of the spirit lamp E to pass into it. The other journalextends through and beyond the handle, as seen at e, and has a turninglever N, jointed to it so as to be capable of being turned in an arc ofone hundred and eighty degrees in a vertical plane made to pass throughthe axial line of the two journals. This lever when pressed up againstthe handle is made to enter a recess f formed in the handle, and to passupon a spring catch 71., arranged and applied to the handle as seen inFigs. 1, 2, and 4. The spring catch serves to hold the lever in placewhen standing upward. By unlatching the spring catch and moving thelever out of the recess of the handle, the said lever may be turnedaround in a plane perpendicular to the radial line of the journals, andso as to produce the rotation of the ironing box one hundred and eightydegrees of a circle, whereby the positions of the flats or smoothingsurfaces may be reversed as occasion may require.

The wick tube-0 of the lamp is made to lead out of a cylindrical orother proper shaped chamber, H, formed in a. tube, I,

that extends upward from the bottom of the lamp and is closed at itsbottom and made "open at its top. The wick, g, is led into the chamber,H, and up to andin contact with a tube of cloth or capillary cover, A,which is made to surround and fitclose upon the tube, I, and to extenddown to. a seat or shoulder, 7;, lo. that. is formed around the tube, I,andwithin the body of. the lamp.

.Inclo-sing and closely fitting to the said tubular cloth or cover andthe tube Ion which it is placed is a cylindrical or other proper shapedair vessehK, that is attached to a rod, L, extending down through thescrew or filling cap, M, of the lamp. [When the rodextends through saidfilling cap, it is provided with a male screw, Z, which screws into afemale screw, m, attached to or formed in the filling cap. Attached tothe top of the rod is a milled nut n, by which the rod may be rotated.The screw on the screw rod shall be so arranged or made and applied tothe rod as to enable the bottom of the air vessel, K, to be depressedupon the seat or shoulder surrounding the tube, I, or to be elevated tosome distance above the said shoulder.

The object of the airyessel K and the tube I is to prevent the swash ofthe alcohol in the lamp or that movement of it which takes place during,or is produced by the operation of ironing, from causing too great aflow of the alcohol into the wick, which difliculty occurs when the flowis attempted to be regulated by a screw so applied to the wick tube asto pinch the wick in order to overcome its capillary attraction. Byscrewing down the air vessel so that its bottom or lower edge shall restupon the shoulder or seat above mentioned, the flowof the alcohol fromthe reservoir of the lamp to the wick ortubular cloth surrounding thetube I, will be intercepted or prevented. Next, by raising the airvessel above its seat by means of its screw rod we can expose a greateror less amount of surface of the tubular cloth to the fluid so as toregulate the amount of fluid taken up by said cloth by capillaryattraction, and delivered to the wick, and this without any injuriouspinching of the tubular cloth or wick. By my contrivanceI avoid such apressure on the wick as will tend to condense it and thereby injure itspowers of capillary attraction, and I prevent sudden increase of flowagesuch as would cause the alcohol to pass out of the wick tube and intothe chamber surrounding the wick tube.

Instead of making the rotary chamber in two parts as has been customaryheretofore to make it, I cast it with its journals in one entire pieceand with openings in its opposite sides as seen at B, R, andvwith agroove, 15, extending entirely around in the inner edges of saidopenings, into which groove is to be sprung sheet of Wire. gauze ornet.u,.. the groove serving to sustain the same in place.

The lamp reservoir is attached to the handles by tenons Q), 1), thatextend down from projections w,"w, from the lamp and into correspondingmortises or holes 50, 00,; formed in projections or; shelves y, y, eX-;tending from the handle as seen in Figs. 1 and 2. ,Said lamp hoyvevermay be attached to the handle in any other suitable manner. 1 I do notclaim the combination of a rotary box, a supporting bail or handle and aspirit:

lamp, the box being provided With tWo smoothing faces or surfacesor'flats and made to turnaround ithin the handle so as to bring eitherof them downward after it has been heated by ;the flame of the Wick ofthe spirit lamp, but i What I do claim as my invention is- The mode byWhich I prevent the swashing of the alcohol in the lamp, from causingtoo great or sudden a fiowage of the alcohol through the Wick, meaningto claim the air vessel K in combination with the tube I, its seat andthe capillary covering, the same being applied together and in thereservoir of the lamp and to the Wick thereof and made to operatesubstantially as specified.

;In testimony whereof I have hereto setmy signature this seventh day ofNovember A. D. 1853.

I, p PETER s. HOWES.

Witnesses: i ,7

R. H. EDDY, I

F. P. HALE, Jr.

